Paper-reinforcing machine.



C. H. HOWARD.

PAPER REINFORCING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, 1914.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

M-aasses, Live 71%;,-

y c. H. HOWARD.

PAPER REINFORGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 8, I914.

1,21 1,850. Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

71%m55a5, jive/722%):

c. H. HOWARD.

PAPER REINFORCING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, 19M.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

UNITED STATES; PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. HOWARD, OF SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PATRICK TRACY JACKSON, JR., 0] CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

PAPER-REINFORCIN G MACHINE.

Application filed December 8, 1914. Seria1 IN'o. 876,140.

To all whom it may concern." 1 Be it known that I, CHARLES H. HOWARD a citizen of the United States; residing at SaugusIcounty of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Paper-Roi forcing Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to machines forreinforcing fabrics, such as paper or like sheet material, and more particularly to that type of such machine wherein the fabric is strengthened by transverse threads or strands of textile or other material.

In a prior ap lication filed April 15, 1914, Serial No. 832,0 3, a machine of this general character was shown and described, wherein the transverse threads in plural number were taken by grippers transversely of the fabric and then these grippers were lowered toward, and delivered the transverse threads to, thread carriers which moved with the fabric or paper and held the transverse threads in contact with the adhesive surface of such fabric or paper until the permanent incorporation of the threads therewith.

The present invention is a further de velopment of said machine, and the aims and purposes are to provide means whereby instead of imparting the double movement to the grippers in order to" place the threads transversely of the machine and then deliver them to the longitudinally-movable thread carriers, the thread carriers themselves are given movements toward the grippers to take the threads therefrom, then toward the surface .of the fabric or paper to place the threads thereon in addition to their movement longitudinally with the fabric or paper,-all as will hereinafter more fully carry them into contact therewith and then, move in the direction of fabric or paper feed while still holding the transverse threads.

Another important feature of the present invention consists in the construction of the transverse thread carrier ner of their operation.

These and other characteristics of the'invention will best be made clear from the following description and accompanying drawings of one good form of means for carrying the invention into practical effect, it being understoodthat the invention is not, however, restricted to the particulars of the means illustrated, but may be varied in details within the true scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a side view of a machine embodying the present invention, some of the parts'being broken away; Fig. 2 is an end'view thereof, some of the unessential details being omitted for clearness of illustration; Fig. 3 is a detached detail, showing? one form of gripper mechanism and the movements thereof in placing the threads in a plane transversely of the machine above the transverse thread carriers which are diagrammatically shown by full jaws, and the man- Patented J an. 9, 1917.- i

and dotted lines in their. lower and upper Fig. 4, showing also a thread cutting means;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail showing the gripper jaws open, parts being broken away;

Fig. 7- is a detached detail showing the thread cutter operating frame; and Fig. 8 shows a fragment of a product that can be produced by the present invention.

The machine of the present invention is primarily for the purpose of reinforcing paper fed through the machine in sheet form by transverse threads, tapes, strings, wire, or other string-like material, either with or without longitudinal threads; and while it may be adapted for similarly reinforcing other sheet material than paper, the term paper will be herein used in describing the machine and its'operation; and while the paper to be reinforced may be taken from a roll or other supply, it may, of course, be delivered for treatment by the present invention direct from a paper making machine. All these matters are clearly evident to those skilled in the art.

The supporting frame of the machine may beof any desired or appropriate character for properly sustaining the operating parts, and as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the said frame comprises the uprights 1, having the upper extensions 2 and properly joined to gether by the side frames 3; butv as Will be clear to those skilled in the art, the supporting frame may vary in character and construction, as it forms no essential part of the present invention.

Mounted in suitable bearings 4 of the machine frame, is a shaft 5 which may constitute the driving shaft for the machine parts, and to this end has mounted thereon the fast-and-loose pulleys 7, 8, Fig. 2.

Mounted in adjustable bearings 9, Fig. 1, is a shaft- 10 which may be appropriately driven from the shaft 5 through intermediate gearing l1 and 12, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and full'lines in Fig. 2.

Mounted in suitable brackets 13, Fig. 1, is

the shaft 1 L carrying the sprocket wheel 15 about which-passes the sprocket chain 16 for operating a cam shaft 17 through its connected sprocket wheel 18, substantially as indicated in Fig. 1. To impart the neces sary operative motion to the sprocket wheel 15, and perforce, the cam shaft 17, the shaft 14 carrying the sprocket wheel is in operative engagement through the gearing 19, 20, and 21, with a suitable gear carried by the driven shaft 10, substantially as indicated in Fig. 1. The above-described devices constitute a good, practical form of means for driving the cam shaft 17 through the source of power, but any other suitable mechanism for this purpose might be employed.

The present invention contemplates that a web of fabric, such as paper or the like, shall have secured to one surface thereof a series of separated transverse threads. As a means to this end, the web of sheet material may be taken from a source of supply and passed longitudinally of the machine over suitable guiding means to have laid thereon the transverse threads, which may be likewise drawn by transversely-movable grippers from a source of supply, and then taken from the grippers by carriers which move toward the grippers, take the threads there from, then move toward the sheet material to lay the threads thereon and then move with the sheet material while still holding the threads,the result being that. the gummed surface of the sheet material will have the transverse threads laid and held thereon until all danger of displacement has passed. One form of means for carrying this feature of the invention into effect will now be described.

The fabric or sheet material to be reinforced may be taken from any suitable source of supply, either from a roll of paper fabric 22, Fig. 1, supported by the machine frame, or 1t may be, if desired, directly from a paper-making machine and is guided into proper position for receiving upon it the transverse reinforcing threads while it is being fed along. In the illustrated form of this feature of the invention, the sheet material a is taken from the roll 22 and passed over a gumming roll 23 supported in suitable position to apply to one surface of the material a, a suitable adhesive contained in a tank 24. Obviously, the paper or other fabric may have been previously gummed and dried, in which event the roll 23 would apply moisture to the surface of the material.

The web of sheet material then passes over a roll 25 supported by a shaft 26 mounted in the sideframe 3 of the machine, and from here it travels about the guide roll 27 above the roll 25, and then longitudinally, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, between the cylinders 28, 29, Fig. 1, which may be in the form of calender rolls for pressing the material passing between them into close relationship. This arrangement for guiding and positioning the web is well adapted for the intended purpose, but obviously the guiding means may be otherwise arranged, the essentials in this respect being that the web shall travel in a suitable path to receive the trans verse reinforcing threads from the carriers to be described. These cylinders or rolls 28, 29, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, may be'suitably supported on the shafts 5 and 10,'and by means of the adjusting device 30, the

shaft 10 may be positioned with relation to the shaft 5 to cause the cylinders or rolls 28, 29, to exert the desired amount of pressure upon the material passing therebetween, and to accommodate them to the thickness of such material.

While the invention is more particularly directed to the placing of transverse threads upon the sheet material or web,-it is also within the purport thereof that longitudinal threads may be placed upon the sheet material or web so that when completed, the sheet -material or web shall contain both longitudinal and transverse threads, tapes, or

transverse threads have been properly laid.

upon the web of sheet material a, and the longitudinal threads 0, other longitudinal threads d and a web of sheet material I) will be laid upon the material a, substantially as pointed out in the prior application to which reference has herein been made. In the present case, the longitudinal threads d will, as 'pointed ,out in said application, al-

ternate with the longitudinal threads 0 by passing about the roll 28 along with the web of sheet material I), as indicated in Fig. 1. Obviously, various mechanical expedients may be employed to lay the longitudinal threads upon the sheet material a, and to superpose thereupon a sheet of material I), but the described means has been found to be practical, and convenient in the mechanical construction. lVhere it is not intended to have the longitudinal threads applied to the fabric, of course they will be omitted, and not be fed into the machine, and the same will be true also, where the superposed web of paper 6 is not to be employed, but usually both longitudinal and transverse threads will be incorporated with the material to be strengthened, and a Web of sheet material will be superposed thereon, the whole being firmly stuck together by a suitableadhesive- In order to lay the transverse threads upon the web of sheet material a, as it is guided and continuously fed, the present invention contemplates means for taking a plurality of transverse threads from a source of supply and placing them transversely of the web or after which the carriers at the side of the web rise, take the threads from the first-named means, thenlower said threads upon the surface of the weband move along with the web while still holding the threads. In carrying this feature of the invention into effect, various forms of means may be employed for taking the transverse threads from the source of supply and placing them transversely of the material and above the web to be reinforced; but in the present embodiment of the invention, such means comprises gripper jaws 31 and 32, Fig. 2, carried by the arms 33 which are themselves pivotally mounted on the shafts 34. The grippers 31, 32, and the operating means thereof, whereby the threads are taken fromthe supply at one side of the machine as indicated in Fig. 2 and placed transversely of the machine, may be substantially as pointed out in said prior application, but whereas in said application the grippers after moving the threads into a plane transversely of and above the web,

were caused to move downward to the web,

in the present invention, this movement of the grippers is omitted, the grippersthemselves acting merely to take a plural number of threads from the source of supply and carry them into a single plane transversely ofthe machine. This characteristic movement of the grippers in the present instance is effected through the cam shaft 17 having mounted thereon the cams 35 having a suitable pathway for rolls 36 carried by the operating arms 37 mounted on the shaft 34, substantially as pointed out and fully described. in said earlier application. The

2, are mounted upon supported by the rods set bolts 41 to the top portion of the machine, as indicated in Fig. 1

2, the construction being such that upon rotative movement of the cam shaft 17, the gripper a'rms'33 will be swung toward and from each other to carry the transverse threadsrinto a planetransversely of the ma chine and above the web to be reinforced, substantially as pointed out in said prior application. The threads are taken from a source of supply preferably at one side of the machine, as indicated at 42, and pass through a suitable guide 43, Fig. 2, and-then through the grippers 31' by which the threads are carried from the supply side of x the machine toward the median line thereof and then the ends are delivered to the other grippers which then proceed as pointed out in said prior application, to draw n the threads through the grippers 31 as the latter swing back to initial position toward the side of the machine. The means for opening the gripper jaws 32 may besubstantially the same as that. described in said prior application, and as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a suitable cam on the cam shaft 17, cotiperating with the finger 44 upon which rests the end 45 of an actuator 46.

The actuator 46 engages beneath a roll 47, Fig. 2, which is connected to the slide frame 48, substantially as described in said prior application, and at appropriate time under the action of the finger 44 and its operating cam, separates the jaws of the gripper 32,all as will be readily understood.

As hereinbefore noted, there is provided at each side of the machine, a transverse thread carrier, the thread engaging po-rtlon of which has a movement toward the plane of the transverse threads held by the grippers 31 and 32, in order to take the transverse threads from said grippers and then carry them downward and lay them upon the surface of the web or sheet material to be reinforced, whereupon the said carriers, While still holding the transverse threads, now released from the grippers, move along with the web of sheet material for some distance and hold the threads upon the surface thereof. .Various specific forms of carrier means may be provided to effectively perform the stated. function, but in the present form of the invention, said carriers comprise a carrier supporting frame 49,,Figs. 1, 4 and 5, having a flanged portion 50 which rests upon the rolls 51 extending from the tion being such that the carrier supporting frames 49 may be moved longitudinally on the supporting rolls 51 in a manner as will presently appear. In order to hold the carrier supporting frames in their prescribed path of movement, the flange portions 50 of said frames are engaged by a hold-down 52, Fig. 5, projecting from a fixed part of the machine frame.

Secured to the carrier supporting frame is a rack bar 53, Figs. 4 and 5, the teeth of which are adapted to engage the teeth of the partial tooth gears 54 and 55, the acting teeth of said tooth gears 54 and 55 being reversely arranged substantially as indicated in Fig. 4, whereby when the teeth of one of said gears is engaged with the rack, the untoothed portion of the other gear is adjacent to the rack, as will be evident from Fig. 4.

In order to impart rotative movement to the partial gears 54 and 55, any suitable means may be provided, but as illustrated in the drawings of the present form of the invention, the said partial gears are mounted upon the shafts 56 and 57, and are operatively connected to rotate in opposite directions by the gears 58 on the respective shafts 56, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The shaft 56 may be appropriately driven from the shaft 10 by means of a belt or sprocket 59, Fig. 1, which engages a suitable pulley or sprocket wheel 60 on the shaft 10 and a similar pulley or sprocket on the shaft 56, the construction being such that rotative movement of the shaft 10 imparts to the shafts 56 and 57, continuous rotative move ment in opposite directions, as will be evident from Fig. 1, to thereby move the carrier supporting frame 49 at appropriate times in a direction longitudinally of the machine, first in one and then in the opposite direction.

Mounted for rising and falling movement upon and with respect to the carrier supporting frame 49, is the carrier jaw frame 61, Figs. 4 and 5, having associated there- .with, the carrier jaws for taking the threads from the gripper jaws and delivering them to the web of sheet material to be reinforced. As a good, practicalembodiment of this rising and falling feature in the carrier jaw supporting frame, the latter is provided with a vertical slot 62, Figs. 4 and 5, into which projects a pin or roller 63 from the carrier supporting frame 49, whereby the rising and falling movement of the carrier jaw frame 'is limited and its path of movement is restricted between the carrier supporting frame 49 and the side frame 3 of the machine, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5. Obviously, various expedients may be employed to carry this feature of the invention. into effect, but the above has cal device.

been found to be a good, practical mechani- In order to impart rising and falling movement to the carrier jaw frame 61, the lower portion 64 of the carrier jaw frame rests upon suitable cams 65, Figs. 1, 4, and 5, mounted upon the shafts 56 and 66 respectively. A spring 67, preferably one at each end of the carrier jaw frame 61, connects said frame with the carrier supporting frame 49, the construction being such that said spring 61 normally acts to hold the carrier jaw frame 61 in depressed position with its lower edge 64 resting upon the cams 65.

In order that the cams 65 may be caused to rotate in unison to effect rising movement of the carrier jaw frame 61, the shafts 56 and 57 are operatively'connected to theshaft 66 by-suitable gears 68 and 69, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the construction 7 being such that upon rotation of the shaft 56, substantially as hereinbefore described, the cams 65 will be properly actuated to effect movement of the carrier jaw frame 61 toward the plane of the transverse threads held by the grippers 31 and 32 in the plane above the Web of sheet material a, as indicated in Fig. 3,

The carrier jaws themselves may take various forms suitable for engagement with the plurality of threads held by the grippers 31, 32, above the web of sheet material to-be reinforced, but in the present embodiment of the invention, these jaws comprise a series of relatively fixed and movable members 70 and 71, respectively. The fixed members 70 are preferably-formed directly upon the carrier jaw frame 61, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 6, the said members 70 being formed inclined and with a relatively rough, thread-engaging surface. The movable jaw members 71 are preferably formed of spring material and comprise the strips, as indicated in Fig. 6, which may be set into suitable openings or recesses formed in the aw operating bar 72, by means of the screws 73 or other desirable character of fastening means. The jaw operating bar 72 is provided with a slot 74 which is engaged by a pin 75, Fig. 6, projecting from the carrler jaw frame 61. A spring 76, Flgs. 1 and 4, normally holds, the jaw operating bar 7 2m the position indicated by Figs. 4 and 6, with the jaws open for the recept1on of the threads therebetween. As herelnbefore pointed out, the present invention contemplates that the carriers shall rise toward the plane of the transverse threads held by the grippers 31 and 32, and engage these threads and carry them downward to and above the surface of the web of sheet material to be reinforced, and it therefore becomes necessary, when the grlpper aw frame 61 has been raised by the means herethe carrier jaws 71 upon the transverse threads held by the grippers 31 and 32. As noted, the spring 76 normally holds the jaws in open position and continues to hold the said jaws in such position as the jaws rise to take the inbefore described, to close threads, and after the jaws have the threads positioned therebetween, they close upon the threads and then move downward and longitudinally with the'web a to be reinforced. As a convenient means to this end, there is mounted upon the carrier jaw frame 61, a bracket arm 77, on which is pivoted a trip or jaw actuator 78, the lower end 79 of which bears upon the end of the jaw operating bar 72, substantially as indicated in Fig. 4. Secured to the machine frame in appropriate position to be engaged by the upper end of the trip or actuator 78, is a stop 80, Fig. 1, having a cam portion 81, the construction being such that as the carrier jaw frame 61 rises to take the trans verse thread from the'gripper jaws 31, 32, the spring 7 6 will continue to hold the carrier jaws 70, 71 in open position until the threads have been positioned between said jaws, whereupon the actuator 78 strikes the stop .80 at the part beyond the cam 81, and clamps the jaws firmly upon the transverse threads. Simultaneously with or immediately following this action of the carrier jaws, the transverse threads are released from the grippers 31 and 32, as will pres ently appear, and the carrier jaws. then commence their lowering and longitudinal movements, the actuator 78 engaging the cam portion 81 of the stop 80.

It will be seen, that by making the carrier jaws 70 and. 71 inclined, their engagement with the plurality of threads held by the grippers 31, 32, is facilitated, and the frame 61 may be" permitted to start inits longitudinal movement with the fabric while in raised position. The transverse threads having been now engaged by the carrier jaws 70 and 71, the cams 65 permit'the frame 61 to assume its lowered position under the action of the spring 67 with the transverse threads laid and held upon the surface of the web of sheetmaterial a, and under' the action-of the gear- 54, the carrier, jaw frame 61 is caused to travel in the direction of web or sheet material feed while still holding the ends of the transverse threads.

It is desirable as soon as the carrier jaws 70 and 71 have taken control of the transverse threads, that such threads be released from connection with the grippers 31, 32,

and to this end the gripper jaws 32 are opened by the mechanism heretofore described, and a suitable cutting device is employed for severing the'transverse threads in front of the gripper jaws 31at the supand carry arms 85 may be variously contrived, but as herein shown, they are mounted for rocking movement upon a rod 86 secured to a side frame 3 of the machine, and are normally under the influence of a spring 87, tending to lift the arms 85 and perforce, the knives 82, into their cutting position. The arms 85 are-permitted to rise under the demands of the spring 87- at the desired time by means of a roll 88 which travels upon a cam 89 secured toone of the transverse shafts mounted in the side frames 3 of the machine, as for instance, the shaft 56,all substantially as fully described in the application heretofore-mentioned, and to which reference may be had.

-The web of sheet material a to be reinforced, may either travel directly from the guide roll 27 ,Fig. l, to its position between the cylinders or rolls 28, 29, and be sustained in its general horizontal position by the tension upon the material, or, if desired, atable or support may be provided between the side frames 30f themachine, said support being diagrammatically illustrated at 90, Fig. 3. In either event, however, the transverse threads are taken from a suitable source of supply by the transverse gripper mechanism, and carried into a position transversely but out of contact with the surface of the material to be reinforced, and

thereupon the transverse thread carriers are caused to v move toward the transverse threads while thus held by the grippers, and to take the threads from the grippers them-toward and into contact with the surface of the material to be reinforced, the said carriers while thus still holding the transverse threads in contact with the surface of the material to be reinforced, being given movement along with the web of, sheet material in the direction of feed.

A fragment of the material which forms one of the products of which the machine is capableyis illustrated in Fig. 8, wherein the web of material a has shown thereon, the transverse and longitudinal threads and superposed web 6. While the described mechanical organization forms a good, practi cal form or embodiment of the presentinvention, it will be understood, of course, that many features of the invention may be described, but may be varied within the limits-as defined by the claims.

The gripper mechanism for carrying the threads transversely of the web are shown as being similar to .that of said prior application, but obviously they may be otherwise constructed, the essential in this respect being that the gripper mechanism after drawing the threads transversely shall release the threads to the control of the thread carriers so that they may be delivered to the surface of the web.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for. feeding material to be reinforced by a series of independent transverse reinforcing filaments, means for simultaneously distendmg a plurality of independent reinforcing filaments in parallel relation transversely of the material to be reinforced, carrier means for taking the plurality of transversely arranged independent reinforcing filaments from the distending means and delivering them to the material to be reinforced, and means for moving the carrier means toward and from the distending means.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for feeding ma terial to be reinforced, by a series of independent transverse reinforcing filaments, means for simultaneously distending a plurality of independent reinforcing filaments in parallel relation transversely of the material to be reinforced, carrier means'for taking the plurality of transversely arranged independent reinforcing filaments from the distending means and delivering them to the material to be reinforced, means for moving the carrier means toward and from the distending means, and means for moving the carrier means with the material to be reinforced.

3; In a machine ofthe character described, the combination of a source of transverse thread supply, means for taking a plurality of threads from said source of supply and placing them simultaneously in a single plane transversely of the machine, means forfeeding a web of sheet material longi-' tudinally, transverse thread carrying means, IIIGHJlSwfOI moving said carrying means toward and from the plane of the transverse threads to take and deliver the same to the material to be reinforced, means for movingsaid carrying means longitudinally with the material while still holding the trans verse threads, and means for then freeing the threads from the carrying means.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of gripper mechanism for taking transverse threads from a source of supply and placing them in a plane transversely of the material to be reinforced,

transverse thread carriers movable toward ing the fabric longitudinally, gripper mechanism for taking a plurality of threads from a source'of supply and placing them simultaneously in a single plane, a transverse thread carrier at each side of said fabric provided with thread engaging and holding jaws, means for raising the thread carriers to the plane of the transverse threads and lowering the same, means for closing the carrier jaws upon the transverse threads while in said plane, means for moving the transverse thread carriers along with said fabric while still holding the transverse threads, and means for freeing the threads held by the carriers from the gripper mechanism.

6. In a fabric reinforcing machine, the combination of means for guiding and feeding the fabric longitudinally of the machine, gripper mechanism for taking a plurality of threads from a source of supply and placing them simultaneously in a single plane above the fabric, a transverse thread carrier at each side of said fabric provided with thread engaging and holding jaws, .means for raising the thread carriers to the said plane of transverse threads and lowering the same to the plane of the fabric, means for closing the carrier jaws upon the threads while the carriers are in raised position to take the transverse threads from the gripper mechanism, means for moving the carriers longitudinally with the fabric while still holding the transverse threads, and means for freeing the transverse threads from the carrier jaws after a predetermined longitudinal movement of said carriers.

7. In a paper reinforcing machine, a table, means for feeding the paper over said table, gripper mechanismfor taking threads from a source of supply and placing them transversely of the paper, a carrier at each side of the machine, means for moving the carriers upward to take the transverse threads and downward to place them upon the paper, means for moving the carriers threads from a source of supply and plac-i ing them transversely of the fabric, a car- 1 0 rier at each side of the machine having transverse thread engaging means, means for raising the carriers to engage the transverse threads and lowering them to place after a predetermined longitudinal movement thereof.

9. In a fabrlcrelnforcmg machine, means for feeding a fabric continuously, gripper means for taking a plurality of threads from a source of supply and placing them in a single plane transversely of the.fabric, thread carriers, means for raising the thread carriers to the plane of and to engage the transverse threads and lowering said carriers to place the threads in position tobelaid upon the fabric, means for free ing the threads thus engaged by the carriers from the gripper means, means for moving the carriers along with the fabric while still holding the transverse threads, and means for freeing the threads from the carhave moved a predetermined distance with the fabric.

10. In a fab 'c reinforcing machine, a source of fabric supply, means for feeding the fabric longitudinally through the machine, gripper mechanism for taking a plu-' rality of threads from a source of supply and placing them in a plane transversely of and above the fabric, transverse thread carriers having jaws, means for raising the carriers to the plane of and to engage the transverse threads and lowering said carriers to place the transverse threads upon the surface of the fabric, means for moving the carriers longitudinally with the fab I 1C as it is fed and while still holding the transverse threads, means for freeing the transverse threads from the carriers when the latter have traveled a predetermined distance with the fabric, and for then returning the transverse thread carriers to their original position.

11. In a fabric reinforcing machine,

means for taking threads from a source of supply and placing them in a plane transversely of the machine, means for feeding a fabric continuously in a longitudinal direction, thread carriers having inclined jaws, means for raising the carriers to the plane of transverse threads andfor lowering said carriers, and means for closing the carrier aws upon the threads while 1n sa1d plane. 12. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for guiding and feeding a web of material to be reinforced, gripper means for taking a plurality of threads from a source of supply and placing them transversely of the 'web,

mounted on said supporting frame and provided with a series of thread engaging jaws, means for raising and lowering the jaw frame with relation to the supporting frame, and means for moving said frames longitudinally of the machine.

14. In a fabric reinforcing machine, .a transverse thread carrier comprising a carrier supporting frame, a carrier jaw frame mounted on said supporting frame and provided with a series of thread engagingjaws, means for raising andlowering the jaw frame with relation to the supporting frame, and means for moving said frames longitudinally of the machine and provided with a series of relatively fixed and movable jaws.

15. In a fabricreinforcing machine, the combination of a transverse thread carrier, comprising a carrier supporting frame, a carrier jaw frame mounted for relative rising and lowering movements with respect to the supporting frame, normally open jaws carried by the jaw frame, means for closing the same, and means for moving the carrier jaws longitudinally of the machine.

17. In a fabric reinforcing machine, a

transverse thread carrier having a series of opposed fixed and movable jaws for engaging and holding transverse threads, means for raising said jaws to engage transverse threads and then lowering the same, and means for'moving the carrier jaws longitudinally of the machine.

' 18. In a fabric reinforcing machine, a transverse thread carrier having a series of jaws for engaging and holding transverse threads, means for raising said j aws'to engage transverse threads and then lowering the same, and means for moving the carrier jaws longitudinally of the machine, said aws being inclined upward in the direction I of the longitudinal movement thereof.

19. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for guiding a web tobe reinforced, gripper means for drawing threads from a source of supply and carrying them transversely with re moving the thread engaging members longi-- tudinally of the machine while holding transverse threads, and means for releasing the threads from the said thread engaging members. 4

20. In a fabric reinforcing machine, the

combination of means for feeding the fabric,

means for taking a plurality of threads from a source of supply and placing them in a plane above and transversely of the fabric, means for directing longitudinal threads onto said fabric as it is fed, transverse thread carriers at each side of the machine, means for raising said carriers to engage the transverse threads and then lowering the same to place the transverse threads on said fabric, means for placing a superposed fabric upon said longitudinal and transverse threads, and means for moving said transverse thread agriers along with the lower fabric as it is 21. In a machine of the character described, gripper means for carrying a plurality of threads from a source of supply and placing them in substantially sheet form transversely of the machine, transverse thread carrier means having relatively fixed and movable jaw members for taking the sheet of transverse threads from the gripper means, means for moving the carrier means in a longitudinal path, and means for freeing the threads from the jaw members as the carrier is thus moved,

22. In a machine of the character described, a transverse, thread carrier having a series of jaws for engaging and holding transverse threads, means for closing the jaws upon the transverse threads, means for moving the jaws longitudinally of the machine while closed upon the thread to hold them in proper position on the web to be reinforced, and means for releasing the threads from the jaws after the threads have been delivered to the web.

23. In a machine of the character described, a transverse thread carrier having a series of jaws comprising inclined members for engaging the jaws upon the transverse threads, means for moving the jaws longitudinally of the machine while closed upon the thread to hold them in proper position on the web to be reinforced, and means for releasing the threads from the jaws after the threads have been delivered to the web.

24. In a machine of the character described, a transverse thread carrier, means for moving said carrier in a straight path longitudinally of the machine, relatively fixed and movable jaw members mounted on the carrier to engage and hold transverse threads as the carrier is moved in its longitudinal straight path, and means for opening the jaws to release the transverse threads after they have been moved with the carrier a predetermined distance longitudinally.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. HOWARD.

Witnesses; I

BEATRICE I. SMITH, ELLEN B. TOMLINSON. 

